Set-Top-Box PC

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bicostp
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Set-Top-Box PC

Post by bicostp »

My dad's moving a site from one town to another, and they left some neat stuff behind in the old building. Most of it is aluminum equipment we'll take apart and recycle ($.07 per pound for aluminum, a bit more for all the copper wire). But there's some stuff I'm using:

128 MB laptop RAM
64 MB laptop RAM
case fan to quiet my PC down a little
Old multimedia projector (from 1997. It works fine for video; gonna donate it to the school.)
40 gig HD (seagate)

But the best thing I get is a Compaq DeskPro PC.
64 MB RAM
500mhz P3
onboard ethernet
ATI Rage Pro 2x onboard video (2 MB)
6 gig HD
Whisper-quiet fan

I plan on pairing it up with my old PC-TV bridge and using it as a set top box. It was originally running Windows 2000 Server, acting as a DHCP server (doling out IP addresses and stuff like that) so aside from some scratching on the sides and some equipment ID labels it's like new. (I had to change some DIP switch settings to get it to not boot as soon as it gets power, though). I ripped out the old 6 gig Maxtor and plopped the 40 gig hard drive in there. It's got 256 MB of PC100 RAM in it, the maximum it can address. I probably won't hook it up to the internet, just so I don't have to run tons of Windows updates that will bog it down a lot. It's already got all the programs it really needs (VLC Media Player, some emulators for those homebrew goodies, Worms World Party, Media Player 9 codec pack, that sort of thing)

But enough rambling, I have a question.

My PC-TV bridge box can only work up to 640 by 480 resolution, and the slider on Windows XP only geos down to 800 by 600. I know I can get the resolution down by going under Control Panel -> Display -> Advanced -> Adapter -> List All Modes , but that's a pain in the butt. Is there a way I can add 640 x 480 to the adjustment slider? (I'm assuming it's a registry key that needs to be edited...) So far Google has been inconclusive.

Thanks!
sniper_spike
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Post by sniper_spike »

Why don't you look for yourself?
Run>regedit
Dr. Gregory House wrote:Good lord, are you having a bowel movement or a baby?
Triton
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Post by Triton »

couldnt you donate the projector to me instead? lol :P nice find man
marshallh
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Post by marshallh »

Yeah, what are you doing, giving it to the school? :P
I'd buy it from you but I'd guess you alreayd have given away.
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bicostp
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Post by bicostp »

@ Sniper: I did, didn't find anything that really stood out. :( Maybe I'm missing something.

@ Triton: Trust me you wouldn't want it. :P It weighs something like 20 pounds, it's the size of a small house, and it only accepts composite. (what do you expect for something that's 10 years old?) Definitely not something I'd want to hang from the ceiling...

@ marshall: Yes. I already have a much nicer one (got for free because "it didn't work". The lens needed cleaning. :roll:)
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Post by Skyone »

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_d ... 241,00.asp

I think PowerStrip could be used for this...
Triton
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Post by Triton »

trust me, i would take it! lol, composit is fin with me, so long as it can project a decent sized image on a wall lol
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